A Chat With: Paula Kemp and the team at the Birchwood Group
We caught up with Paula Kemp and her team at the Birchwood Group, one of the sponsors at Eastbourne DigiFest, to learn more about their company and the application of technology within it. Ryan Boorman, Dylan Halpin, and Mustapha Muhammad also shared their views.
Chalk Eastbourne: Paula, can you tell us about Birchwood’s business, including its size, services, and target audience?
Paula: “We have around 215 employees and offer three main services: automotive, motorbike, and cosmetic repair. Our customer base is fairly diverse, ranging from those with older cars needing minor chip repairs to those interested in purchasing a new £80,000 electric vehicle (EV).
“Geographically, it’s a real mix. We stretch from Dorset to East Sussex and the Kent border, with the majority of our demographic in Sussex. We have Ford, Kia, Skoda, and Triumph franchises, with Ford and Kia being the largest in terms of our technology provision.”
How has your demographic evolved over the years?
Paula: “Over the last 20 years, our demographic has shifted significantly, partly because Eastbourne and the surrounding towns have changed whilst car ownership has become more accessible. We now deal with a far more diverse audience and see more families and younger buyers than we did 15 years ago.
“We’ve been in our current location on Lottbridge Drove as Birchwood since the late 1990s. In the town generally, Ford itself has had a presence for over 50 years.”
What sets Birchwood apart from other local competitors?
Paula: “Whilst we represent some of the leading market share franchises in the UK, we are a local company, employing local people, serving our local community. We understand that the products we sell could be purchased from any other dealership, or online. But we differentiate ourselves through our Birchwood people, both colleagues and customers. Our values underpin everything we do Team Spirit, Passion, Respect, Commitment and Fun, and that’s what sets our Brand apart.
“Our industry is going through the biggest shift in generations- environmental change leads to the demand for EVs, consumer expectation and behaviours have significantly moved, an increasing Gen Z buyer base - and our people are what help us stand out in this changing market.
“To help with that, we run an extensive colleague engagement program that is due to expand further in the coming months. It includes ensuring our colleague stakeholders have the opportunity to connect and learn from peers across the business; take on roles as colleague representatives coming together to discuss and solve challenges we face and offering personal development opportunities in line with individual strengths. We also provide significant training, since each manufacturer has their own specific needs in this area.
“It’s all underpinned by our values. Moving forwards, we’re going to be introducing an engagement portal too, offering our colleagues more benefits.”
How has the rise in electric car technology impacted your business?
Paula: “Changes in technology within our industry are making a massive difference, and they’re going to cause a lot of change in the next few years too.
“If you take a look at a technician now and compare the training, they would have done five years ago with what they have in place now, it’s significantly different. Back then, they would have trained on combustion engines, but now they also need to know all about EVs.
“What people outside the industry might not realise is that these are two entirely separate propositions with completely different skillsets.
“There is also the challenge of different health and safety implications when it comes to working with EVs, so they need to learn all those different requirements as well.
“We’re really in a transition period for the industry, and it’s all about how we invest in the future. We can all grow our workshops and dealerships to handle both EVs and combustion engines on equal footing, but at some point, demand for combustion engines might drop off. How do we make sure our technicians have the right balance of work to stay highly skilled in both combustion and electric? Can you be an expert in both?
“This is the most challenging and exciting time I can remember in our industry.
“There’s definitely an issue regarding apprenticeship programmes not meeting the needs of the industry. It heavily depends on your local training companies and what they offer, because we don’t want to send people off outside the area when they’ve chosen to work here. As a result, we cannot always spend a significant sum of our apprenticeship levy because there aren’t suitable courses available to meet our future needs.
“A big part of what we’ll do in the future will be technology-based. So, we need to attract talent with those skills to keep them from leaving the area. But we can’t do that without having the right training provisions and funding in place.
“And I’m not talking about IT engineers. I’m talking about people who can understand our software and how to apply and be trained on that. It’s quite a challenge. There just aren’t enough specific courses to help people upskill. It’s not IT; it’s technology – and technology as part of our industry, not fixing a printer or building a spreadsheet.
What are some of the most vital digital transformation improvements your business has experienced in recent years?
Paula: “We’ve brought in lots of digital tech to provide a better service to our customers, giving them more control over the car buying process from the start. Our aim is that the customer has complete control over how they engage with us- online, offline or a combination of both; it’s their choice.
“Now, people can get a quote online, and pick finance deals for a car. We’ve got 360-degree viewing tools so they can take a virtual tour all around the car. They can also get a valuation for their current car, sort out the part exchange online, and even arrange for their new car to be delivered.
“This means that customers don’t have to interact with us in person if they don’t want to. At any point however, they can choose to engage with our team, whether it’s through live chat, phone call, live video call, or coming into the dealership.
“COVID definitely sped up the adoption of this tech, but a lot of it was already in place. We’ve had live chat for 10 years, but people either didn’t know about it or didn’t want to use it - both our colleagues and customers. They were just used to the old way of coming to the dealership and doing everything in person.
“Of course, lots of people still want to visit the dealership, similar to buying a house - you could do it without seeing it, but you’ll probably want to check it out at least once!
“Nowadays, customers tend to know more about the car when they come to the dealership, usually because they’ve done their research and used our tools beforehand.”
Mustapha: “From a marketing angle, our digital marketing game has really evolved, and we’re focusing more on analytics and data. That is a real part of our job now. In larger organisations, the digital marketing team is often separate from the traditional marketing team.
“However, we don’t really on just the digital environment; we do also work with offline platforms, key ones being local events and community sponsorships. Digital marketing might have a bigger budget, but events take more time to plan and prepare.”
Paula: Although digital marketing gives us more tangible metrics for success, without events and building brand awareness, our digital engagement wouldn’t be as successful. The two elements work hand-in-hand, and we’re always active on social media during events. If we ever stopped supporting and engaging with local events like Magnificent Motors and St Wilfrid’s fundraisers, we’d just be an online tech company that happens to sell cars. That’s just not who we are or what our brand’s about.”
Dylan: “Interestingly, Ford did their latest product launch for the Ford Explorer as a live stream, which was an interesting challenge - driving customers to attend the virtual event.
“We’ve also got an online valuation tool that looks at cars all across the UK and gives the customer a part-exchange price for their vehicle, or they can just sell it to us online.”
Ryan, as Birchwood’s Technology Coordinator, what does your role involve?
Ryan: “I’m responsible for managing all the software and portals across our dealerships. I need to know everything about them, how they work together, and how they fit into the processes for each department.
“My main goal is to make sure our software is efficient and meets our needs. I also deal with a lot of data and customer relationship management (CRM). We have a diverse database, so my job is to extract the data, break it down, and provide it to our teams for when they’re contacting customers. We have stringent GDPR policies, so it is crucial I ensure these are adhered to at all times.
“Keeping up to date with industry trends is important too. I’ve always loved technology, and I started at a dealership when I was 18 as a service advisor, which was customer-facing. Later, I moved into marketing because I knew it had a lot of digital aspects, and I wanted to learn new skills.
“Having a good understanding of sales, service, and marketing helped me get promoted to my current role last year. It’s been great because I can combine my skills and knowledge with my passion for tech, so I’ve been able to flourish.
“Working here is always exciting because there’s always new technology coming in. For example, we’ve just got two new iPads that work with a 55-inch showcase system. We can build a car on the iPad with a customer and then project it onto the big screen for them to see.
“We also introduced an image and video app, which allows our sales team to take personalised videos of cars and answer specific customer questions. They can upload the video to an app and send it to the customer. So, if a query comes in and someone asks about heated seats, our team can record a demo for that potential customer, introduce themselves, and create a personal connection before the customer even visits the dealership.”
What are you most excited about for the future?
Ryan: “Technology is constantly changing, and I think the way we do business will evolve significantly over the next five years. We’ll keep adapting to ensure that both our customers’ and colleagues’ experiences improve together.
“I believe that eventually, online car buying will become similar to the Amazon process. Google has been considering adding cars to Google Shopping, so you could simply add a car to your basket and buy it. But that’s been in the works for a while, so we’ll have to see.
“I’d be really excited to see augmented reality play a role, allowing customers to feel like they’re actually inside the car.
“In the near future, we have lots of exciting product launches and digital campaigns coming up. There are new things happening every month, often tying in with other events, like the coronation, for example.”
Why have you chosen to support Eastbourne Digifest?
Paula: “As we have mentioned earlier, we are very much focused on being a local business supporting the local community. Having the right people with the right technological skills to move our business forward in the coming months and years is going to be absolutely essential. So we are very happy to support initiatives that help to grow these skills and retain local talent.”
Dylan: “I think it’s great that you’re working to make digital careers more accessible in Eastbourne. I started a digital apprenticeship and had to go to Newhaven to do it for the first couple of years. The options of where I could do it were very limited and so creating more opportunities for people in the future would be really beneficial.”
Lastly, tell us what you love about Eastbourne, both from a business perspective and as an individual working here.
Dylan: “I grew up here. When I was younger, I didn’t think living here was that great. But as I’ve grown up, I’ve realised that it’s actually a fantastic place to live. It’s a big town now but still has a smaller-town feel, there’s quite a lot going on, and there’s plenty to do in the area. Plus, it’s a beautiful place with spots like The South Downs nearby, and it’s close to Brighton and London.”
Mustapha: “After studying and working in London, I moved here because I found the pace of London not conducive to a balanced lifestyle. Eastbourne offers a different way of life – it’s chilled by the sea and has great places like Birchwood to work at. The demographic is changing, with all the schools, colleges, and universities in the area leading to more families being attracted to the town.”
Ryan: “I agree, Eastbourne is a great place to live. I moved here from Maidstone and it’s very different to what I was used to. I used to drive everywhere, and you could quickly get out on the M20. Here, public transport is much better, and now I find myself walking and cycling much more. The pace of life is much calmer and more relaxed here.”
Paula: I’ve lived in Eastbourne for nearly 40 years and have seen the town grow and change so much yet the essential essence of Eastbourne hasn’t changed; you can still walk everywhere, the sea is our boundary line alongside the Downs and the people are as friendly as ever, there are just more of them. I am proud to call Eastbourne my home and feel privileged that I have the opportunity in my job, to support our local community.”
Thanks to Paula and the team for sharing so much information about digital within the Birchwood Group, and of course for sponsoring Eastbourne DigiFest on Friday 22nd September.
